Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyer Blog

Summer is upon us and as an experienced Philadelphia personal injury and Pennsylvania car accident attorney since 1979, we have seen an increase in claims involving children when school season is over. Children are typically injured in bicycle accidents, swimming pool accidents, and car accidents while being transported to camps or summer programs. As a matter of fact in 2008 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 9.2 million children had visited emergency rooms for unintentional non-abuse injuries during the summer season. Accidents are one of the leading causes of death among children with approximately 12,000 fatalities a year.

Parents and physicians normally concern themselves with the objective physical injuries. As an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney, I have seen and investigated situations involving post-traumatic stress in families of children who have been in car accidents. Typically the symptoms happen after traditional trauma care when the children return to their homes from the emergency room or hospital and begin to have nightmares.

The accidents that typically kill young children are car accidents and drownings. I recommend the website maintained by the CDC Injury Center for suggestions on keeping your family safe (cdc.gov/injury/podcast.html#hrs). Every parent has an obligation to protect their child from dangerous injuries. Some steps to be observed are parental supervision at swimming pools, use of seat belts in vehicles, and in this experienced car accident lawyers opinion, keeping your children out of 15-passenger vans while being transported to camp or summertime activities.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident, swimming pool accident, or other trauma inducing incident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Pennsylvania car accident and injury lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

I have been an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney since 1979 handling tens of thousands of car accident claims and unfortunately have dealt with significant amount of tragedies involving teenage drivers. It is inevitable that most of us will have to deal with a teenage driver with cross currents of maturity factors, safety features, and other issues and concerns. I am currently working on a case where a 17-year old child was presented by his father with a souped-up sports car and 4 days after he obtained his license he took the car on a joy ride which catastrophically injured a 17-year passenger who will have permanent reminders of the accident for the remainder of his life. So then, what is a concerned parent to do?

First of all, this experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer recommends enrolling the child immediately into a driver safety program or reputable driving school. If you choose to purchase a car for your child, please obtain a car with anti-lock brakes and the newest safety features possible and make sure the car is thoroughly inspected. In the last 5 or 10 years, there have been tremendous advances in crash protection and you can check the website for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (www.iihs.org) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (www.safercar.gov) to determine crash results and models that you are considering. Both sites post results going back to the 1990's. Look for a car with front, side and head protection airbags, anti-lock brakes, and electronic stability control. These are all lifesaving features which are worth extra money when considering the value of the precious cargo in the car.

As an experienced rollover accident attorney, I highly advise against purchasing an SUV or a vehicle with a high center of gravity or a sport’s car. It is best to secure a vehicle with a 5 star safety rating and of course, always remind your child never to text or use a cell phone while driving and never, ever, ever drive while drinking. Also stress the importance of seat and shoulder belts.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a Pennsylvania car accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced car accident attorneys for a free no obligation consultation at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com.

As an experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer, I am amazed by how many people are afraid to drive a car and how much their fears can arise to a position totally impairing their ability to concentrate and drive safely. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death by injury worldwide and according to a recent study, people ages 15 to 44 account for over half of all deaths due to road traffic injuries. If you are crippled by fear when driving an automobile, chances are you may be driving too slow or applying the brakes too frequently and acting as a hazard to other drivers on the road. As driving a vehicle requires concentration and a set of skills, it is suggested that one who sustains driving anxiety take a driving course with a professional driving instructor to be coached into a psychological comfort zone and learn successful defensive driving techniques that can systematically reduce crash rates and mitigate potential liability.

There are many new cutting edge anticipation based methods and techniques that are easy to remember and repeat that will make a safe and confident driver out of a nervous one. The result will be less stress and less chance for injury in everyone’s life.

The experienced Philadelphia car accident law firm of Reiff and Bily has been committed to motorist safety since 1979.

When I went to high school, driver’s ed was a requirement and made me a much safer driver. Unfortunately, driver’s ed classes which were once a mainstay in high school have become almost non-existent in suburban Pennsylvania high schools as they have in high schools around the country. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration and the Pennsylvania Department of Education dropped driver’s education from its list of priority programs when federal funding disappeared. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2008, approximately 3,500 people in the United States ages 15 to 19 were killed in car accidents with more than 350,000 seriously injured. Teen drivers incur more fatalities and injuries per mile than any other age group. A spokesman for MidAtlantic AAA, Katherine Rossy, noted that AAA would like to see driver’s ed reestablished as federal priority so that states could implement standardized courses increasing behind the wheel training. The experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyers at Reiff and Bily are committed to motorist safety and call for re-instituting driver’s ed in our high schools.

According to an article published in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, Pennsylvania was noted to be the sixth worst state in the country when it comes to driver safety legislation which ultimately leads to more Pennsylvania car accidents. According to the article, Washington-based Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety graded states on whether they enacted laws regulating 15 safety-related items such as requiring motorcycle riders to wear helmets, restricting teenagers from driving unsupervised after 10:00 p.m. or with multiple teenage passengers, and banning texting while driving. Pennsylvania was among nine states ranked as “red” for lacking many of the groups recommended restrictions and furthermore, Pennsylvania dinged for not making violations of its seat belt and booster seat laws “primary” offenses, meaning that police cannot cite drivers who don’t wear seat belts or put children 4 to 7 years of age in booster seats unless another violation such as speeding is observed.

As an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney who handles catastrophic car accident and traffic accident cases throughout the state of Pennsylvania, we strongly urge the following recommendations set forth by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety as follows:

1. Teenagers must be supervised by an adult driver for at least six months and remain citation free before getting a license.

2. Teens must have 30 to 50 hours of supervised practice behind the wheel.

3. Only issue learner’s permits to youth 16 or older.

4. Charge drivers with child endangerment if driving drunk with a child in the vehicle.

5. Ban open containers of alcohol in the vehicle’s passenger area.

6. Mandate blood alcohol testing for any driver killed in a crash or involved in a fatal crash.

7. Require ignition interlock devices for all drunk driving offenders. (Pennsylvania only does this for repeat offenders.)

8. Prohibit drivers younger than 18 from driving between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. (Pennsylvania’s limits start at 11:00 p.m.)

9. Ban teen drivers from using cell phones to call or text even with hands free devices.

10. Prohibit unsupervised teen drivers from having more than 1 non-related teenage passenger in the vehicle.

11. Allow police to ticket motorists for not wearing seat belts as a primary offense.

12. Require motorcycle riders to wear helmets.

13. Require all children ages 4 to 7 to ride in a booster seat as a primary offense.

14. Set the minimum age for unrestricted licenses at 18. (Pennsylvania drivers with no citations or crashes on record can get a full license at 17 years 6 months.)

15. Ban texting while driving for all drivers except for emergencies.

If you check your car operation maintenance manual, you will note that certain lubricants and fluids are to be used in cold weather and tires should be inflated with different pressures. Also freeze protection and antifreeze solutions should be equal to the system protection requirements. It is important when operating your car in the winter that batteries are fully charged and the fuel tank is kept as close to full as possible in case you encounter a situation where you are stranded or stalled on the road. Additionally, steering response in cold weather can be difficult and if you have hydraulic steering, it may be very slow at startup or low temperatures and can cause an accident if you do not use the correct oil or fluid. You can always run the engine when first starting until it reaches operating temperature. Otherwise you may cause severe engine damage and definitely take life and value off of your vehicle.

In December, I was driving my car when all of a sudden due to a faulty fuel pump and a hydraulic steering issue, my car went dead and I skidded down a hill on black ice and into a fence, blocking a highway and becoming a sitting target for other vehicles on the icy road. I was completely unprepared for this situation as I was not dressed appropriately and after 2 1/2 hours of waiting for a tow, I was chilled to the bone. Therefore, I might also add, it is important to dress appropriately by wearing layers of warm clothing with proper ventilation. In the cold weather, always be careful when entering and exiting a vehicle as slip and falls are common. Also, clean your vehicle of snow to avoid the snow missile that could cause harm or injury to other vehicles on the road. At times of bad weather, we have to depend on each other for safe travel and our goal is to be safe every day.

The Philadelphia car accident lawyers at Reiff and Bily are committed to motorist safety. If you or a loved one has been involved in car accident, please feel free to contact one of our experienced Philadelphia car accident attorneys for a free no obligation consultation.

The other night I was telling my 15-year old son that I never drove with a seat belt when I was a teenager and as a matter of fact, remember being a young child and our car did not even have seat belts. When I was a teenager, I didn’t give seat belts a second thought and no self respecting teenager gave them much thought. It just was not cool. However, years later the original seat belt turned into the belt and shoulder strap which then became an integrated unit. Then as consumer advocates and auto product liability lawyers marched forward in the interests of consumer safety, manufacturers started to install airbags. Man car freaks, auto manufacturers and lawyer bashers state yes there was life before seat belts and airbags. As an experienced Philadelphia product airbag attorney, I can tell you there was much death and catastrophic injury before seat belts and airbags.

In a season where the roads are often covered with ice and snow, this experienced Philadelphia car accident lawyer advises all readers to buckle their seat belts up because even a minor impact can lead to catastrophic injuries if you are not belted. Statistics recognize that people who buckle up generally only sustain minor injuries in an accident whereas people who are not belted have a greater risk of death and serious injury.

As I started practicing automobile product liability law, buckling my seat belt became reflexive and I am quick to admonish anybody who gets in my car or anyone else’s car who does not use a seat belt. We are thankful for advancements in automotive safety and I thank all of the product liability lawyers committed to fighting the major automobile manufacturers who still try to place profitability over consumer safety.

According to a recent news report, the District of Columbia decided that its periodic motor vehicle safety inspections are unnecessary “flab.” Unbelievably the D.C. Council stated that a lack of data failed to prove that periodic safety inspections saves lives.

As a Philadelphia car accident lawyer for 30 years, I know the importance of periodic safety inspections and even though the economy is tight, postponing repairs (which is becoming more common these days) can often lead to a catastrophic consequence, including fatalities and serious injury. Many consumers complain that when their car is inspected, the mechanics always find something expensive that needs fixing such as brakes or tires.

Since 1989, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last looked at state inspection programs and concluded that periodic checks definitely cut the number of poorly maintained vehicles on the road. There was a debate whether or not there should be a federal mandate. However, NHTSA decided it is still an issue that should be determined by the states and that changing the same would require new congressional legislation. NHTSA’s official position is that safety inspections remain an issue that should be left to the states and that only the federally mandated annual emission inspections are still necessary for areas of poor quality. However such inspections only look at emissions equipment.

Continue reading "District of Columbia Does Away With Automobile Car Safety Inspections - Experienced Pennsylvania Car Accident Lawyer Hopes Other States Do Not Follow Suit - Who Really Pays The Price?" »

I was in Florida yesterday and rented a car with a business associate of mine and took for granted that the same safety features present on a privately owned Chevrolet Impala motor vehicle would be standard on the rental vehicle. I surprisingly discovered that this was not so.

According to investigation by the Kansas City Star, Enterprise Rent-A-Car chose to leave side airbags from thousands of Chevrolet Impala cars in order to save millions of dollars. According to the article authored by Rick Montgomery and Ann Margolis of the Kansas City Star, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the nation’s largest private buyer of new cars and several used ones choose to “delete” a standard safety feature from thousands of Chevrolet Impala fleet vehicles. Enterprise rented out thousands of 2006-2008 model vehicles without side curtain airbags which have been shown to dramatically reduce deaths and catastrophic injuries.

Continue reading "The Car You Rent May Not Necessarily Be As Safe As an Identical Car That You Own - Be Careful Warns Experienced Automobile and Airbag Defect Lawyer" »